My Dad Lloyd writes:
Hi all, Here we are in Alaska after getting up at 3:00 a.m. to catch a 7:10 flight to PHX, we are traveling with some friends who retired from AA, We made it through to Anchorage unscathed. They didn’t know about the hoops you have to jump through to get stand-by passes on another airline (Alaska Air) so they left DFW without the proper tickets to get through to Anchorage. They had to back track in Phoenix and get the right paperwork, which caused them to not make the flight on which we were all listed. Once they got to Seattle, they had to wait for two flights before they got on a plane. We waited in the Anchorage airport until 2:00 am Texas time for them to arrive. The rental car that was reserved by our friends went bye-bye because of a no-show, and they didn’t think to call or go to the rental counter in Seattle and let them know we would be late.
We ended up staying a very short night in the land of no darkness at a motel. We were lucky to find a rental car the next morning. The silver Taurus with 194,000 miles on it is still running. I can’t believe we are paying $100.00 a day for this fine ride!
We got to Seward in high spirits, but very tired from our endless night the day before. We went straight to Miller’s Landing over worst the gravel pot holed road we’ve ever been on to check into our deluxe accommodations. Our friends got settled in their small cabin that had indoor plumbing. We then went down the road to our “cabin”. We began to wonder when the agent asked us if we brought sleeping bags! It didn’t look too bad at first, until she pointed to a small tool shed in the back. It was about 12 feet wide and 15 feet long. There was a kitchen sink and table on the bottom floor. The stairway to the “sleeping loft” took up the rest of the room on the ground floor. It was a wooden ladder nailed to the wall. But wait there’s more! The shower was on the outside wall by the only door, a classy blue shower curtain and two boards that formed the walls. The path to the out-house had been newly mowed. We could see it in the distance. Imagine the surprise if one of those friendly black or brown grizzly bears decided to go pooh at the same time you did. WE aren’t stupid yet! We high-tailed it back to Seward at the blazing speed of 10 mph to find a room. The Breeze Inn is fantastic! The room doesn’t have air conditioning, but you don’t need it here. It is cold and rainy, but still ALASKA. We’re hungry and we need to go find a $20.00 hamburger somewhere!
We were surprised to find that hamburgers were only $8.00, and that was at a restaurant. The only fast food place in Seward is Subway. The local eateries are good, however.
On Thursday, we hopped, skipped, and jumped over the worst road on Earth to go fishing. The weather had not improved, but nothing ever cancels a fishing trip, right? The fishing party and the guides all met at the Miller’s Landing establisment to board the boat. Much to our surprise, there was a two step process to board the boat. A van took the party about one mile south and got on a water taxi(john boat). The taxi took the group out to the 33 foot flat bottomed boat which has two 250 horse powered outboard motors. There was space for four in the wheelhouse–remember there were 5 people fishing and the captain. To say the least, it was cozy, but the place cleared when the little boy got really sea sick and barfed all over. The waves in Resurrection Bay weren’t too bad, but as soon as we broke out of the bay the waves went to 11 feet and our luxury liner rocked and rolled. The air temperature was about 60 degrees, rain was coming from all directions which made it impossible to see or maintain balance (have you seen Deadliest Catch? It was somewhat like that!). The captain headed for the leeward side of an island and we dropped our hooks into the 175 foot deep water. The prospect of catching the BIG one was still a possibility; so we fished on!
Two hours, two fish (not keepers!), and $220.00 later we gave up and went inside the cozy wheelhouse. Oh, by the way, the boat was equipped with first rate bathroom facilities. A white toilet was attached to the boat near the wheelhouse. It has a blue shower curtain supported by a round rod above the potty for privacy, except it wouldn’t completely go around because of the wheelhouse. It was a real show for those seated in the wheelhouse. They didn’t advertise entertainment. I guess that was an added bonus. Our fishing trip ended about 2:00 in the afternoon. We were wet, tired and fishless.
The ladies enjoyed a trip to Exit Glacier and shopping. Did you know that most of the Seward shops are souvenir stores? They all have identical things to sell. It was a challenge to see who had the best prices on plastic moose statues, ball caps, and t-shirts. You probably would have guessed that without going there. It is rather sad that one of our country’s most picturesque places has become commercialized like many of the others.
Friday morning we loaded up the Taurus and headed out on the bumpiest road ever one last time to pick up our friends at Miller’s Landing. Their luggage was sitting on the cabin’s porch and they were there eagerly waiting for us. Our friends had some breakfast while we hit the shops for the last time. After taking some harbor photos, we kissed Seward goodbye and set off for Anchorage. Interestingly, we didn’t realize that there were TWO big cruise ships docked there. We all were going on about how big that boat was and that we’d never seen one that big! Now we know why! I guess a trip to Seward, Alaska, can effect you in ways you would never imagine. It made us irrational!
We finally found the car rental salvage yard in Anchorage and were taken back to the airport. It was about 3:00 pm on Friday and we were not supposed to leave until 1:30 AM on Saturday. We once again began the discussion about ticketing and where our friends had their tickets stored only to find that they didn’t have any tickets yet. He guessed that he would get them before we leave Anchorage. So we restart the ticketing process all over. This time they are neither one coherent enough to make the reservations, but we didn’t figure this out until we got to Seattle. We lucked out and found a much earlier flight that we could take so we listed them and us for it.
We arrived at 1:00am in Seattle and tried to settle in for a short nap. The ticket counters didn’t open until 4:00 am so we were just stuck. Oh, what a night. The public address system came on every 15 minutes to tell us that we were there and there was nothing we could do about it! Our friend’s wife packed and unpacked her carry on bag about 100 times. If I ever need a jacket folded, I’m going to get her to help. She would ask all of us every time she folded her jacket where this one came from and would we like a jacket because this one wasn’t hers. There was one of the cleaning crew that got on Air France’s ticket counter phone and must have been calling family in Africa. They could have heard her without the phone.
At about 4:00 we tried to get their tickets. It was a long drawn out deal again. He couldn’t hear (hearing aid in both ears) and would get mad and hang up. When we went to check in, the agent asked how many were in the party that had the same last name as theirs. We said two, and she said that there were 8 listings for the same name! His only comment was that he guessed Lloyd’s computer must have fast keys because he just didn’t know how he could have made a mistake like that! Shame on Lloyd’s computer!
One last flight to Phoenix and then on to DFW. We thought we were home free when we landed at DFW. Oh no, we were not so lucky. Our friends got split up on the flight home. He told her to stay in her seat until he came to get her. That was when they got on the plane. Big mistake. She just follows the other passengers off the plane. When we got off we saw him walking down the corridor and asked him where his wife was. He looked around and said that he told her to stay put! We both panicked and hurried on very tired legs in different directions looking for her. He found her and called us to let us know. That was a relief.
We made it back, but never again! We know that we could never be tour guides for groups of senior citizens. Those people have got to be nuts to usher old folks all over the world.
In Dorothy’s famous words, “There’s no place like home”.